This week is Mental Health Awareness week, as many of you now know, i have suffered from depression and anxiety for over 7 years. I have always felt open conversations about mental health are extremely important. Even more so in recent years… many of us have grown up in an era where society has become ever more concerned with social media and online perception. This is why i felt this years theme ‘body image’ was particularly important to talk about.
People often forget that mental health is something everyone has, we all have good and bad days. Just because you don’t have a diagnosed mental illness doesn’t mean you don’t sometimes struggle with your mental health. A lot of the time during mental health weeks people share their diagnoses that they may have kept hidden and felt ashamed of (including myself at the beginning of this post). This is refreshing and courageous and by no means would i want to put these people down. BUT i am cautious… i feel like by making these weeks about diagnosed issues, it can sometimes make those who don’t have one have feel that their struggles are less important.
Mental Health Awareness week is about all people from all walks of life, not just those with a diagnosis. Body image is a particular theme that reflects this, especially now days. I don’t think anyone always feels totally happy with their body, there are always points where we all feel like we want to lose or gain weight, want to be more muscular or toned. But now it’s more than that… changing your aesthetics has become ever more accessible. People want to be more tanned, have better eyelashes, more defined eyebrows, longer hair, the list goes on.
Instagram and social media is full of people with seemingly perfect bodies, flawless skin and makeup it is so easy to look at them and feel inadequate. It’s so easy to forget this is their highlight real… they are only posting when they look good and have captured their ‘best angle’- Insta poses are not reflective of how your body looks in real life!
There are also filters, photoshop and other editing tools that people use to alter their images… i’ve seen so many people who have accentuated their hips to make their waist look smaller, smoothed their skin, whitened their teeth. You say it makes you feel better about yourself, but personally i just feel i end up comparing my real self to the edited version and feeling more and more unhappy.
Then there is the whole instagram influencer/ public figure issue. Some of these people promote weight loss products, teeth whitening products, fitness routines that give them that ‘ripped’ figure etc. This can be a constant reminder on your feed that you need to ‘be better’ or change in some way. In addition, many have had both invasive and non invasive procedures to alter their appearance/ body that they may not have shared to their following. As a result you look at them and think- wow her legs are so toned and she has no cellulite i wish i was like that… when in reality they may have undergone procedures like liposculpting to help them look that way.
I’ve also recently discovered many people have created additional private instagram accounts that only close friends have access to where they put their ‘less pretty’ pictures, videos and memories – WHAT?! I honestly find it so upsetting that people feel that they cannot post certain things on their ‘regular insta’.
I have had issues with my body image partly fuelled by what i saw on social media. During a depressive episode many years ago i became extremely underweight and experienced body dysmorphia. I have considered posting a before and current image within this blog post to demonstrate my struggles, but i personally have always found these triggering rather than helpful so i won’t. but some of you probably remember me at a stage where i was rather small. I thought losing weight would make me feel better about myself, but it doesn’t. Changing the outside won’t change your internal monologue (what you tell yourself). You will only feel better about yourself if you think better thoughts, that comes from working on your thoughts not your body!
Real bodies aren’t perfect, they have scars, bruises, stretch marks, sagging skin. You might get fat rolls when you sit down. You may be able to see your ribs and bones because you struggle to gain weight. But it’s not about fat, or weight, it’s about your mental and physical HEALTH. As long as you are healthy weight, when i say that i mean that it is not putting you at an increased risk of being unwell (directly or indirectly)… try not to let it get you down. The people who love you, the ones who really matter, they don’t compare you to others, only you do that. They don’t care if you have sparse eyebrows or short eyelashes- they don’t even notice these things. They don’t care if you have a six pack or toned thighs and bum…Only that you are happy.
“and i said to my body. Softly. ‘ i want to be your friend.’ it took a long breath. and replied, ‘i have been waiting my whole life for this.'” – Rumi Kaur
love to all xoxo
Winging it since 96 